Can opener



July 1, 1930. A s. A. HAINES cm OPENER Filed May 25, 1924 n 2Sheets-Sheet l K fj, o 1 Y 1 38 46 n s. A. HAINES cm OPENER Jul 1, 1930.

Filed May 23, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i tated. 1

Patented July 1, .1930

ems- STATES PA ENT -FFIcE" STACEYA. HAINES, 0F CLEVELAND, 0HIO,-ASSIGNOR TO HULDA LEFFEBT, 0F 1 CLEVELAND, OHIO.

CAN OPENER Application filed May 23,

This invention relates to machines for opening cans and moreparticularly to a machine having a relatively stationary cuttingelementadapted to' 'engage a can while theflcan is ro- Qne' of the objects ofnyinvention is the provision of a canopening machine whiohis simple inconstruction, convenient and easy tooperate and is adapted to worksatisfactoriiy onany shaped can. In thisconnection my lnventioncontemplates the provision of a machine which eliminates the necessityfor clamping devices to position the can with rela tion to thecuttingmember. i A further object of my invention is the provision of a cuttingmember havingsuch characteristics that the severed edge of the tin isautomatically pressed downwardly and outwardly, against the sides of thecan, so as to permit safe removal of substantially'the'entire contentsof the can.

I have illustrated my'invention in the preferred form inthe accompanyingdrawing which will hereinafter be fully set forth indetail. Theessential characteristics of my invention, however, will be summarizedin the claims. I i

In the drawings Fig. lfisa longitudinal section taken through a canopener embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the deviceshown'inFig. 1; Fig. 3 isia horizontal section through a portion of thedevice showing the cutter actuating member inplan view; Fig. 4 isasection takenon the. line 4 .4 in Fig. 3 and showing the cuttingelementon an enlarged scale. Fig. 5'is a horizontal sec-- tion taken onthe linei5-5 in Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a vertical section through -;amodified con- 46 struction of cutting element; and Fig. 7 is a sectiontaken on the line in Fig. 6.

I have shown my invention in connection with'a standard 10,, which isadapted to be secured to a wall or a bracket, and a table 11,

which may be attached'to the standard by Y securing members '12 andwhich functions as a can support The standard m'ay also have a laterallyextending portion 13Qto permit attachment to a table if desired. Thecanto be out is placed asindicated a e in pright 192a. Serial. No. 715,329.

position 'upon'the table 11 and directly beneaththe cutting means. i i

The cutting means preferably embodies a knife 15 which is adjustablypositioned in an arm'116 asby athumb screw 17. This arm is shown ashaving a handle 18 at the outer end thereof and as being pivotallymounted as at 19' adjacent the inner end to a bracket 20. To permitvertical adjustment for accommodating various sizedcans', I have shown:the co bracketQO as being slidably mounted "on' a. guide21 and as beingadapted to be adjustably positioned thereon by binding screw 22. Theguide member is illustrated as being supported'at the 'topwithin aforwardly extending portion 23 of the standard and at the bottom by theplate 11. The bottom of the'guide member may be reduced, as at 24:, toprovide a shoulder which engages the top of the table. The guide membermay be maintained 'inadjuste'd position by a 1nember'25 which enga esthe underside of the table and is in threaded engagementwith the reducedportion 24.

To rotate a can during the cutting operation, I may utilize a feed wheel30 having a non-circular opening through which a complementary shapedshaft 31 extends. The feed wheel, as shown, is disposed within a =recess"adjacent the outer end of the bracket 20 and is maintained in suchposition by a 0 plate 32 which engages the underside thereof,

and on opposite sides of the shaft 81. A. securing member 33 maybeemployed for maintaining the plate in adjusted position. The upper endof theshaft :81 is journa lled inthe extension 23, while the; lower endthereof'is J suitably journalled in the table 11. V Rigidly mounted onthe lower end .of the shaft 81, I

have shown a bevel gear 34: which is adapted to be rotated by abevelgear 35 on a shaft 36. so

As' shown, the shaft .36 is supported bydugs 37 and 38 respectivelywhich extend downwardly from thetable. Av-crank arm 39 may then beemployed for rotating shaft 36.

To maintain the can in close fitting lenga-s m nfi ithth fee he l, Imenus trated a f lower 40 which i lo sely m nntsld in th m v rect y bhind the ni e 11 this connection, it is. to he noted that the Verticalaxis of the knife and follower'are disposed on opposite sides of a planepassing through the center of the can and the axis of the shaft 31. Thisprovides in effect a three-point engagement between the cuttingmechanism and the can wherefore the can is firmly held against lateralmovement during the cutting operation. The lower end of the follower maybe knurled as at 41, while the knife may be extended rearwardly toengage the bottom of the follower and to prevent it from falling out ofthe arm 16. This follower functions not only to cooperate with the feedwheel in rotating the can, but also to, turn down the remaining portionof the top of the canbetweenthe cutter and the periphery of the can,thereby lessening the danger to injury in removing the contents ofthe-can, and also increasing the size of the opening to substantiallythe full cross-sectional area of the can.

To facilitate insertion of a can beneath the cutter, I have shown aspring 45, one end'of which engages .the arm 16 and the other end ofwhich-engages the bracket 20. This functionsto maintain the arm in theinclined posit-ion'shownin Fig. 1. r

To prevent injury to the cutting point in the eventthe bracket islowered, I haveillustrated a compression spring 46 which surrounds the,guide 21 and of such length as to engage ashoulder47 on the hub of thebracket .whenever the bracket is lowered or is inadscribed. The point ofthe knife and the heel thereof cooperate with the feed wheel to gripfeed wheel whenever downward pressure is exerted on thehandle 18. y 1 Tooperate a device made in accordance with my invention, the bracket 20 israised sufficiently to permit entrance of the can beneath the cutter.'Thereupon the operator presses downwardly on the handle 18 with'onehand, while with the other hand turns the crank'arm 39.. Thisrotates the shaft 36, and through the gears 34 and 35 rotates the shaft31. The downward pressure on the arm 18 forces the knife andfollowerinto engagement with the top of the can wherefore the can isforced against the feed wheel 30. The lower end of the follower, asshown at 41, is tapered wherefore increased downward pressure on thehandle 18 effects an increasing pressure of the can against the feedwheel. As heretofore explained thecan is prevented from shifting sincethe cutter and follower are offset with relation to a plane passingthroughthe center'of the can and the axis of the. feed wheel. Thus thecan is rotated so long as the arm 39 is revolved, wherefore the extentto which the can is out can be con-, trolled at will.

In view of the foregoing description, it will be understood. thatmyinvention provides a can opening machine which is very simple inconstruction, easy to operate and durable 1n use. Moreover my inventlonis of such a character that the can is automatically rotated without thenecessity for complicated clamping mechanism. In addition, I provide adevice which is capable of cutting cans of various shapes and sizes andof so operating on the cans that the remaining strip adj acent theperipheral edges of the can is automatically turned down therebyreducing the danger of. injury in'removing the contents of the can. 7

. Having thus descrlbed my invention I claim:

1. A can opemng machine comprising 1n combination, a can support, ashaft journaled therein, a feed wheel splined on the shaft, means forrotating said shaft, and a cutter associated with the feed wheel.

2. A can opening machine comprising in combination, a can support, ashaft journaled therein, a bracket slidably mounted upon the shaft, afeed wheel splined to the shaft, and associated with, said bracket, saidfeed wheel being adapted to engage the side of a can positioned on saidsupport, an arm pivotally mounted on the bracket, a cutter fixed to thearm and adapted-to engage the top of the can and to force the canagainst the feed wheel whereby rotation of the wheel effects rotation ofthe can during the cutting operation.

3.; In a can opening machine, the combination with a can support, of apost journalled I therein, means for rotating the post, a feed wheelsplined to the post and adapted to engage the side of the can, a cutter,and means associated with the cutter for cooperating with the feed wheelto effect rotation of the can during the cutting operation.

4. In a can opening machine, the combination with a can support, of avertically extending shaft journalled in said support, a

bracket movable with relation to said shaft,

an arm mounted on the bracket, afeed' wheel associated with the bracketand splined to said shaft,,a cutter carried by the arm and meansassociated with the arm for cooperat ing with the wheel to efiectrotation of the can during the cutting operation.

' ed on the bracket, acuttercarried by the arm, r

5. In a can Opening machine, the combination with a can support, of avertically extending guide member carried by the support, a springsurrounding the guide member adjacent the bottom end thereof, a'bracketslidable on the guide member and adjustable with relation thereto, anarm pivotally mountsaid spring having such characteristics that thecutter is prevented from engaging the support when said bracket is inthe lowermost position. v

,6. In a can opening machine, the combination with a can support,of abracket movable Vertically with relation to the support, an arm mountedon the bracket, a feed wheel 7 ment of the can during the cuttingoperation.

signature.

7. In a can opening machine, the combina- I tion with a can support, ofparallel upright members mounted on the support, one of said membersbeing rotatable and having a gear,

adjacent one end thereof, means carried by the support for rotatitngsaidgear, a feed wheel splined to the rotating member, a

bracket a djustably' mounted on the other a member and having meansassociated therewith for retaining the feed wheel in adjusted 1;

position with relation to the bracket, an arm pivotally mounted on thebracket above said. wheel, a cutter mounted on 1 the arm, and

means for normally holding the arm in such position that the top of acan maybe forced against the feed Wheel while the cutterclears the topof said can.

In testimony Whereof,-I hereunto affix my e ema, HAINES a

